Efe Nail Saltık 
Equilibrium Group, renowned for its blockchain engineering prowess, has announced the launch of its venture capital arm, Equilibrium Ventures, along with its inaugural early-stage fund. The Equilibrium Ventures Fund I aims to raise €30 million (approximately $32.5 million) and has already secured 20% of its target in the initial closing.
Since its founding in 2018, Equilibrium Group has played a pivotal role in developing several high-profile blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and zkSync. The new venture unit is set to leverage this deep technical expertise to support emerging blockchain startups.
The fund has garnered interest from significant backers, including contributions from Equilibrium Group itself and limited partners such as Sebastien Borget from The Sandbox, Mask Network, and Jigeum Capital. Investment Partner Mika Honkasalo, who previously worked with ParaFi Capital and The Block, noted that the full close of the fund is anticipated by the end of this year.
Equilibrium Ventures distinguishes itself through its robust technical foundation. The venture arm plans to leverage the group’s extensive experience in building key blockchain networks and projects such as Starknet, Celestia, EUROe (an EU-regulated stablecoin), and Gevulot (a zero-knowledge proofing startup). The support from Equilibrium’s 80-plus technical experts worldwide positions the venture unit as not just investors but also as engineering partners for founders and investors.
The three-person team at Equilibrium Ventures—comprising Mika Honkasalo, Henrik Sundvik (formerly of Bain & Company), and Christopher Ahn (formerly of Molten Ventures)—is targeting investments in tech and infrastructure-centric startups. The focus areas include cutting-edge cryptographic technologies such as zero-knowledge and fully homomorphic encryption.
Honkasalo articulated the fund’s vision, stating, “We believe there will be an acceleration in two major trends that will drive mainstream adoption: blockchains becoming faster and better with more transactions per second and features, and their increasing integration with the real-world economy, with people getting paid in stablecoins. In our view, ‘on-chain’ will become as ubiquitous as ‘online.’”
The launch of Equilibrium Ventures marks a strategic expansion for Equilibrium Group, transitioning from balance sheet investments to a dedicated venture capital structure. This move not only aligns with the company’s long-term vision but also reinforces its commitment to fostering innovation in the blockchain space by providing crucial support to emerging technologies and startups.
In summary, Equilibrium Ventures aims to capitalize on its technical legacy and deep industry expertise to drive the next wave of blockchain innovation, with a strong focus on supporting startups that are poised to transform the technological and economic landscape.